I am participating in the March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Thanks to the co-authors of Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community.

Yesterday I was searching for something on one of my book shelves and came across a small box of pennies. Opening that box transported me back to a time when I did quite a bit of staff development. To get teachers thinking and writing, I would sometimes ask them to choose a penny, look at the date it was minted, and think about what was going on in their lives at that time. Ah-ha! Maybe there’s a story for me in here just waiting to be written! I chose one…

1985 – I’m much, much younger. Married less than ten years. My kids are little, very little. Brian is ready to start kindergarten…

One sunny summer morning I pack the kids up and go to the park. Today there is something special going on – a craft fair! With Ann in a stroller and Brian by the hand, we make our way through the crowds past stands of pottery (don’t touch!), hand-knitted scarves (Mom-Mom would like this), and homemade jams (yes, you can have a sample). “Stay with me,” I warn. We linger by some handcrafted wooden toys for a few minutes, then continue on. A stand with colorful, hand-painted greeting cards catches my eye, then another with delicate silver jewelry. Suddenly, I realize there is no little boy with me, no one holding onto the end of my jacket. I race back through the crowds calling his name. My son is missing! is the only thought in my mind. Heart pounding. Tears spilling. Hands shaking. I take a deep breath and retrace my steps. One minute, two minutes, it might as well have been a hundred minutes. But then…I spot a familiar red shirt back at the stand with the wooden toys. We are reunited.

The details might be a little fuzzy, but after all these years, that feeling of sheer panic still resurfaces when I think of that time.

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12 Responses to Missing

Oh, that is a really frightening experience, Rosie. Heart stopping! The reason I never could relax and enjoy school field trips.
I love the idea about the box of pennies for staff development. Today, would many of the pennies date before the teachers were out of diapers? I am thinking of so many new teachers today as baby boomers retire.

A truly frightening experience for any parent, Rose. I do like this idea of using pennies as a jump start to writing. I think it would be interesting to see how many could come up with a remembered event from that year or the surrounding years.

It’s always amazing what you can remember when you think about your age at that time, where you worked, where you lived, and so on. I always found it to be a fun activity. Guess that’s why I kept those pennies all these years.

I once lost Eddie at the mall. Panic ensued. I can still feel it as I know you can too. You relay that scary experience well … one minute, two minutes, 100 minutes (even 2 seconds is 100 minutes at a time like that.)

These lines are amazing. Truly mentors for kids. The variation in sentence length shifted my breathing and then I was holding my breath and then a sigh of relief. Well done! I will be printing this out for students.— Heart pounding. Tears spilling. Hands shaking. I take a deep breath and retrace my steps. One minute, two minutes, it might as well have been a hundred minutes. But then…I spot a familiar red shirt back at the stand with the wooden toys. We are reunited.